Book Nerd

Well, I feel mighty slack having not posted anything this week… but even though it was a long weekend I didn’t really do anything worth noting. I literally went to the pub, slept, watched a movie, went to the pub, slept then watched movies again. Of the movies I did watch, a few I might do a post about shortly like “An Education” and “Revolutionary Road” but for now I going to let you all know what I have been reading over the past couple of months.

Around 4 or 5 months ago I was at the Fishermen’s Warf market rummaging through mountains of books when I came across a Marilyn Monroe biography called “Norma Jean: The Life of Marilyn Monroe” by Fred Lawrence Guiles. The copy I picked up was rather tatty but bonus that it had that old book smell, I love that smell. I really enjoyed the book and found it fascinating and heartbreaking to learn about her life. I think I could have read a book about anyone from that era and just been fascinated by there every day life but Marilyn’s was an interesting and intense one at that giving it a much greater appeal.

After reading this I craved more information but not wanting to re-read her whole life story book after book I decided on another 50’s famester. James Dean. This drool worthy fella would be worth reading about so I set out to the book shops to find me a biography. Considering Monroe and Dean are still such popular cultural icons I was shocked to find that there were no biographies in stock for either of them at the several book shops I visited. Rather disheartened I decided to google and find out which the best James Dean biography would be and then look for it specifically. This leads me to an older post “100 eBay Purchases” where I bought “The James Dean Story” by Robert Martinetti.
Again, the book was fascinating and I also bought the James Franco as James Dean bio pic “James Dean” which conveniently arrived the night before I started reading and was a good teaser. I buy these books to entertain me on the train, but with both of these I enjoyed them so much I was tucked up in bed early each night reading more… I wanted to keep reading (I honestly had to pace myself or I would have finished it in one sitting) but didn’t want the books to end. Especially considering the way they both conclude. I highly recommend “The James Dean Story” for any James Dean fan as I found it very in depth. And hey, after all from what I googled I am in the opinion that it is the best James Dean biography out there…

Image from BornBad.fr

Having devoured both of these books in such a short amount of time I had bought another one to read straight after. It was Dita Von Teese’s "Burlesque and the Art of the Teese/Fetish and the Art of the Teese". It is a beautiful hard cover book that could easily be a coffee table book with some of the wonderful photographs inside and half way through it flips from burlesque to fetish. But… being a large hard cover book I didn’t want to cart it on the train with me so I could only read it at home. This was last Monday. I had finished the Burlesque side of the book by the Wednesday and finished the last chapter of the Fetish side on Sunday. As interesting as this book was I didn’t have anything to read on the train or another book lined up for when I finished… I had found a biography on Bettie Page on eBay but they did not accept bank deposit so it was out of the question. I then promptly remembered the Harlequin Vintage Collection I had gotten for Christmas and began reading “Kiss Your Elbow” by Alan Handley.

Image from Harlequinblog.com

It was a good cheesy little novel with mystery and intrigue but didn’t capture my attention the way the previous two books had. I read it strictly on the train and didn’t really have to urge to tear away to bed early and read further. This kept me entertained for long enough, until my mother (bless her) informs me she had found a shop in Melbourne who stocked the Bettie Page biography I had found on eBay and that it was on its way. I had wanted this book since my “100 eBay Purchases” post! It arrived the same week she ordered it (last week) and I couldn’t wait to start it.

The “Kiss Your Elbow” book was bookmarked and put back on the shelf and “The Real Bettie Page” by Richard Foster was in my hot little hands. However as the book arrived on Friday and I was busy all weekend I had to wait until Sunday until I could finally get a start on it. So far it has more then lived up to my expectations and I only currently on chapter eight.

Image from StoweVintage.com

If you are even slightly interested in James Dean, Marilyn Monroe or Bettie page I highly recommend all of these books… you will have trouble putting them down. Or even if you are simply looking for something to read! For now I am still on my Bettie Page book and it is great, but I have my eye on a Clara Bow biography for when I finish. What is your favourite biography? And what are you reading? I’d love some recommendations…

100 eBay Purchases!

Today is quite a milestone in my life… I have made it to 100 feedback on eBay!

And when I say 100 I mean 100 people have left feedback for me after I have bought something from them. Although I had hopes to sell things online I have yet to actually do so… so every single digit of my feedback score is something I have bought.

Now, I can’t quite take credit for all of it as my mum and I shared an account until her eBay addictiveness took over and she created her own, but I most certainly made quite an effort toward it. Unfortunately eBay doesn’t keep track of you purchases after they are 90 days old so I can not see what the first thing I purchased was… but I vaguely remember it being a dress with pumpkins printed on it (which was worn so often that I literally wore a hole in it!).

Since I do not have a credit card eBay is about the only place I can shop online since I can pay via bank deposit. This can be quite a problem as I often find things on other sites that I would kill to have but alas can not buy. However, the lack of credit card has probably worked in my favor in the long run though I suppose… otherwise I foresee a wardrobe full of pretty dresses BUT an amazing amount of debt.

There have been so many wonderful things I have bought off eBay… some of which I probably wouldn’t even remember until I saw them. I love eBay for making things that are too find so easy to get. From my saddle shoes to TV series that were not released in Australia… it is a goldmine of hard to find stuff.

Although I can not purchase things with PayPal and therefore can not buy anything from overseas I still do OK just buying things from Australia… there are some wonderful vintage sellers and sewers who make petticoats and rock n roll skirts. I must say though, from when I first made my foray in the world of eBay compared to now there is a lot less quality vintage. I’m not sure if this is simply because it has all been snatched up and there isn’t as much out there or because people have simply stopped listing it… but either way it is rather disappointing.

I haven’t gotten any clothing or shoes on eBay for a while but I still find a way to spend my money hehe. My 100th purchase on eBay for instance was “The James Dean Story” by Ronald Martinetti. It is second hand but still in good reading condition and for $11 including postage I couldn’t resist. I have been looking for a good James Dean biography for a while and haven’t had much luck at all so it was quite a good find if you ask me.

I will do a post of some of my past eBay finds shortly but for now here are a few things I am constantly watching but am yet to splurge and buy…

I just think this is too cute… I certainly wouldn’t mind walking into my garden and seeing Bambi and his Mummy reunited :)

You can find this here.

The Real Bettie Page: The Truth about the Queen of Pinups.

You can find it here.

Mad Men – Season 3.

You can find it here.